


The Secrets We Keep

by Kimium



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: A bit of dissociation, Also Liarde translated this into Russian, Also a bit of suggestive themes, And limited knowledge of AE/UDG needed, Arguments/Making Up, Established Relationship, F/F, Headaches/Migraines, Kissing, M/M, Minor Spoilers for AE/UDG, Post D:AE/ D: UDG, Post SDR 2, See my beginning notes for details, Slight appearance of alcohol, Violence towards Monokumas, baths, nothing too major
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-08-23 23:45:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8347504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kimium/pseuds/Kimium
Summary: Hajime has retained all of the talents he got from being Kamakura Izuru. Using these talents too often causes headaches and dissociation. Keeping this a secret, he willingly goes out and helps the Future Foundation on assignments.The assignment was supposed to be simple: go to a Headquarters branch, help out. Taking Komaeda along they get lost, but are helped in more ways than one as Naegi Komaru and Fukawa Touko are sent to find them, but end up playing counselor as Hajime's secret is found out.Alternatively: Hajime is a dork and kept a secret from Komaeda. Komaeda gets upset. And counselor role falls onto Komaru and Fukawa.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I had a fluffier story that has been waiting patiently to be finished... and then I wrote this. I was so sad that we didn't get to see Komaru or Fukawa meet Komaeda in DR 3, so I decided to write this story. Though... it mutated into Komaru and Fukawa having to deal with Hinata and Komaeda's drama, I still really enjoyed writing this story. I hope everyone does too.
> 
> NOTE: I've never played AE/UDG. I've only seen a walk through of the entire game.
> 
> So, Liarde translated this story into Russian! I'm posting a link so you can go check it out for yourself if you like!  
> https://ficbook.net/readfic/4951817
> 
>  
> 
> As always feel free to leave kudos or a comment. Not needed, but always makes my day.

* * *

Hajime looked at the map, looked up, and looked at the map again. The drawing was neat and simple with minimal lines and text at the side. Kirigiri was the one to draw it, so it was not the map at fault. The map showed their destination, a Future Foundation branch to be a bit down and to their left, but there was no building a bit down and to their left.

Hajime scratched his head and tried to mentally retrace their steps. They started in the right direction and passed the bridge before entering an area with a lot of crates and tall buildings. After dodging some (still active) Monokumas they walked past a run-down hotel and down the street. That was where things went a bit downhill. Some Monokumas jumped and waddled out of an alley towards them.

Fighting them off was their only option and despite Hajime wanting to avoid confrontation at all costs, there was little time to choose. Pulling out random ultimate ability number… whatever (sometimes Hajime just shut his brain off and picked a talent to wield) he started taking down the machines. Fortunately, he managed to get one of the Monokumas to self destruct and take down a good chunk of them.

Unfortunately, they ran down the first street they saw to avoid most of the blast, leaving them where they were now, surrounded by some unfamiliar buildings before the area became eerily empty.

“Well that was fun.”

Hajime turned and looked at his partner, “That was a nightmare. I wanted to avoid fighting and now I think we’re lost.”

“What you don’t have ‘Ultimate Navigation’ as an ability?” Came the reply with a shrug.

“Komaeda…” Hajime sighed, “I don’t like using too many abilities at once. My brain always feels like…”

“Like an over stuffed suitcase that you need to try and get a shirt out without messing up what’s inside?” Komaeda supplied.

“…not exactly how I’d put it, but that will do.” Hajime frowned and returned to the map, “Let’s try to solve this using the map Kirigiri gave us.”

“We could turn back.” Komaeda suggested.

“There could be Monokumas.” Hajime pointed out.

“We could loop around this back street and try to return to the main road that way?” Komaeda continued.

Hajime bit his lip. It was a better idea than turning back. They smaller the area the less chance of a surprise attack, despite the downside of the side street being quite narrow and with many small nooks and crannies from destroyed buildings. If there weren’t more Monokumas down the alley, there was a possibility of people hiding, waiting to attack. Would Hajime risk the unknown backstreet, or should they go back to what they knew was waiting for them?

“The hiding places here are quite small.” Komaeda seemed to read his mind, “I think we can risk it. Besides, we both have luck so I’m sure it will work out.” He added with a smile.

Luck? The luck that wavered like the cuttlefish topping on takoyaki and okonomiyaki? Hajime raised an eyebrow, “That’s not exactly convincing me.”

“…We have more of a chance to make out and not be interrupted?” Komaeda suggested sweetly with a smile.

“Komaeda… be serious.” Hajime glared.

“Ok, ok,” Komaeda raised his hands, “If we stay here we will also have less of a chance we’ll be attacked at a long distance.”

He brought up a good point. Hajime looked around. The side road was considerably narrower than the main street. The Monokumas would have to be in front or behind them to attack. It was also risky, but the narrow road left them with less variables to worry about. Hopefully if they were cornered they’d be able to react quickly. Swallowing Hajime grabbed Komaeda’s hand and started down the street.

“If you hear anything behind you let me know.” Hajime muttered.

“Will do Hinata-kun.” Komaeda sounded a bit too cheerful, “I’m starting to wonder how you even managed these little assignments without me.”

Hajime swallowed looked down. When he was alone he shut himself off a bit and just followed instincts and used talents like he was eating popcorn. It was better that way, but it always left him with a splitting migraine and a detached feeling by the end of the assignment. Not to mention the occasional fainting spell.

He never found the resolve to tell Komaeda that usually he finished his assignments as fast as possible and then spent the rest of his allotted time regathering himself so Komaeda wouldn’t know the state the assignments sometimes left him in. Sure, Komaeda was aware that switching talents too quickly left him disorientated, but if he knew the extent of the pain and disassociation he felt Komaeda would probably lock him up and never let him out. Hajime would be forced to spend his days on Jabberwock Island, locked in their cottage. Not exactly what he wanted, especially since they finally gained Future Foundation’s trust, all be it a bit hesitant and wary.

“Don’t worry about that. Let’s continue.” Hajime refocused on their task and looked down at the map again, “Ok… I think if we take a right at the end of this section we’ll be fine.”

The buildings began to thin out around them, the street opening like a funnel. Steering them over to one side Hajime closed his eyes and slowly drew a single talent from his mind. Suddenly he felt like he could hear everything around him. Was this how Mioda heard the world all the time, or just when she wanted to? He wasn’t sure if the talent he pulled was a musical talent like hers and Hajime didn’t want to ponder that for too long. Opening his eyes Hajime scanned the area. The wind was blowing from the east, a few shuffles under their feet signalled small mammals moving about.

Behind him Komaeda was breathing a bit too normally for Hajime’s tastes. Was he really calm or was Komaeda better at hiding his fear than Hajime thought? As they continued to walk Hajime could hear the scuffling of their feet creating a small rhythm: step, scuffle, scuffle, step, scuffle, scuffle, step, step mechanical whirl… Hajime froze and immediately whirled his head behind them. It was a Monokuma.

He leapt and pulled Komaeda back as he surged forward, pulling another talent seamlessly out. A swift duck, grab, and toss of a rather large piece of concrete later and the Monokuma was smashed to pieces under the weight. Hajime hoped he was fast enough, but he could hear some waddles in the distance accompanied by whirling of metal. More Monokumas.

Glancing around he spotted a rather large metal pipe in the rubble. He pulled another talent out and grabbed it, swinging cautiously. He should petition for a proper weapon, maybe asking Souda to help him design one. Or rather ask the Future Foundation to give him one and not let them get away with the answer of “but you’re taking Komaeda and he has a built-in gun”.

“We can do this together Hinata-kun.” Komaeda’s voice calmly reached his ears. The other had his left hand pointed towards the Monokumas, “Though could we ask the Foundation to give me Hacking Gun abilities too? Not that I don’t appreciate having a built-in gun.”

Komaeda made a gun with his finger and with a cock of his wrist blew up a Monokuma, “It would make this easier, though I feel like a shounen manga protagonist, you know the one…” He was cut off by another exploding Monokuma.

Hajime gave a small nod. He’d add that on his “to do list” and forward the suggestions to Kirigiri or Naegi. Gripping the metal Hajime ran towards a Monokuma and smacked it like it was a baseball ball. The metal pipe protested the weight, but the Monokuma flung backwards into another one, flailing a bit. It would have been comical given any other situation. Running forward Hajime pushed the pipe as far into the Monokuma’s eye as possible before backing up quickly.

The bear exploded and took down the other one too. It was too bad the metal pipe had limited use. Hajime spotted a few more Monokumas waddling over to them. Sighing he reached into the holster he kept on his leg and pulled out a rather large knife. It was a bit longer than a dagger, but not quite wakizashi length. Souda had made it with scrap Monokuma claws, so it cut into metal rather easily, but with the limited metal it still was rather short and a pain to use.

Not that Hajime couldn’t use it. Twirling it Hajime pulled another talent out and ran towards the oncoming Monokuma’s stabbing one neatly in the chest before turning and stabbing another. His head started to throb and Hajime did his best to ignore it. To his side he could hear Komaeda humming as he dodged yet another Monokuma.

Hajime scowled and almost pulled his Ultimate Luck out, but decided against it. It would risk cancelling Komaeda’s luck and the other seemed to be relying on it this time around. Hajime made another mental note to tell Komaeda he could be a bit more careful with his fickle talent, especially when they were on the mainland.

“I can sense your displeasure Hinata-kun.” Komaeda called out.

Wait he could? Hajime stabbed another Monokuma and looked up at Komaeda. “You cannot be serious. Focus here.”

“Yes, yes.” Komaeda shot down another Monokuma, “I think this is the last of them.”

Hajime pulled his knife out and quickly stabbed another Monokuma, narrowly avoiding the bomb inside of it. “This better be. I…”

Hajime felt the pain take a sharp turn, jabbing in his head, cutting off his words. Gasping he fell to the ground, kneeling, one hand on his head. His mind felt floaty and Hajime suddenly couldn’t feel his legs. Crap not now… Hajime could see a few more Monokumas waddling over to him. Komaeda was a bit too far away to make it… shit. Hajime prepared to pull out another talent when a high-pitched laughter filled the air.

Looking up he saw a blur of black before the Monokuma lay on the ground, sliced to ribbons. In front of him stood the person who obviously did it. She looked around his age with long hair in tangles. Her outfit was probably once a school uniform, but it was ripped and shredded. In her hands were a pair of scissors that gleamed in the light.

“Well, well look who we found.”

She had turned around. Her eyes were an alarming shade of red and her tongue stuck out in a way that wasn’t natural or healthy. Hajime swallowed and felt his mind refocus as his brain calculated who she was. If he was correct, she was Fukawa Touko.

“Uh hello. You’re Fukawa Touko, right?”

A pair of scissors was immediately pointed in front of him. Hajime squeaked a bit and backed up, “I don’t remember ever meeting you.” She pondered for a second, “But if I had I must have forgotten, you’re pretty plain looking.” She let out another long, high laugh before jabbing her scissors a bit towards him, “But bzzt, bzzt you’re wrong.” She twirled her scissors, “I’m Genocider Syo, at least to the media. The media loves making fancy names for infamous people.”

Right. Fukawa had a split personality with a serial killer. Hajime supposed he wasn’t one to talk; he had a million talents stuffed in his brain. Plus, who knew if Kamakura Izuru was somehow still around inside of him? Hajime wasn’t too sure, but he slowly pulled his thoughts together.

“I’m sorry Genocider Syo… san?” Hajime hesitantly added on the end, “Thank you for saving me.”

The scissors lowered with a snort, “I would have left you, but my dear Dekomaru raced ahead the moment she spotted you.”

Deko…maru? Hajime looked around. There standing with a megaphone of all things was a girl dressed in a school uniform, though different from Fukawa’s. If memory served him correctly she could only be Naegi Komaru. She was also pointing it directly at Komaeda who was brushing off his jacket, blinking at her with a small cock of his head. Hajime scrambled up and ran over. His head protested loudly and throbbed, but he didn’t care. The Monokumas were destroyed and they were saved by people they could trust. Perhaps things were looking up for them.

“Komaeda!” Hajime winced as another sharp pain hit his head when he stopped, “Are you okay?”

Komaru turned around, her megaphone still pointed at Komaeda. Her eyes widened, but relaxed when she spotted Genocider Syo walk up towards her. Hajime brushed past her, silently apologizing for his rudeness.

Once he reached Komaeda he set his hands on his shoulders and despite the oncoming migraine, pulled out another talent. At once he analyzed Komaeda’s injuries. Some bruising, scrapes, and the way he was adjusting his weight… did he hurt his ankle? Hinata immediately knelt, despite Komaeda gasping, and examined closer. It was hard to tell with the jean’s fabric in the way, but Hajime was sure Komaeda injured his ankle somehow. He stood up and decided now was not the time to poke and prod at Komaeda, not when he had rudely brushed past Komaru without an introduction.

“Uh hello.” He turned to her, “I’m sorry for my rudeness. I’m Hinata Hajime and this is Komaeda Nagito pleased to meet…”

“What are you doing here?” Komaru blurted out, megaphone still pointed at Komaeda.

“Wait pretty boy here actually has a name?!” Genocider Syo said at the same time.

Hajime’s mind blanked and his head started to throb again.

 Komaeda blinked with wide eyes, pointing towards himself, “Me? I’m just here with Hinata-kun…”

“You’re not… planning something, are you?” Komaru started to circle around Komaeda, stepping a bit backwards towards Genocider Syo.

“Don’t even bother.” Genocider angled her scissors towards Komaeda, “I’ll cut your legs clean off this time!”

“SYO!” Komaru gasped out, “There is no need for that…”

Genocider Syo dropped her scissors with a scoff. “Fine. At least he changed his clothes.” She slowly said, “That chain around your neck felt more like a dirty statement than a fashion statement.” A giggle accompanied the last part, “And you got rid of that weird glove.”

Chain on his neck? Hajime did not just blush at the image. He had to concentrate, but his mind kept tugging back at the image. Perhaps later.

“Uh… to answer your question?” Komaeda still was pointing to himself, “We were assigned to go to the Future Foundation branch in this city and help out a bit, right Hinata-kun?”

Thickly swallowing Hajime rubbed his head and tried to will his migraine away, “Yes. Kirigiri-san asked us to come here and help out, but we got lost and…” He suddenly felt a jolt. Where was the map?

“Here.” Komaeda pulled the paper from his jacket, “I saw it on the ground. Better be careful Hinata-kun.”

Sometimes Hajime couldn’t comprehend Komaeda’s luck. “Uh yes see… this was drawn by Kirigiri-san.”

Before he could reach it Genocider Syo walked up and snatched it from Komaeda, peering at it before tossing it away. “That’s definitely Miss Detective’s writing!” She agreed.

Hajime stared at the direction the map went.

“Don’t worry.” Genocider Syo continued, “We could lead you to the branch… but…” her eyes hardened and she twirled two pairs of scissors towards Komaeda, “Don’t you try anything pretty boy or I’ll continue where I left off last time.”

Continue? Last time? The hints were obvious. “You know… knew Komaeda?”

“No not really.” Komaru replied, “But he did a lot of awful things… like manipulate Touko-chan!”

Ah. That explained it. Hajime sighed and suddenly wondered how many people they managed to tick off and now forgot thanks to the Neo World Program.

“I did?” Komaeda unabashedly looked impressed.

“Yeah!” Komaru waved her megaphone, still pointing at Komaeda, “You also took my Hacking gun and modified it. Oh, and sent kids around with cryptic puzzles for me to solve. Not that I didn’t solve those in a heartbeat. I’m the Puzzle Master.” She added with a firm head nod. Beside her Genocider Syo looked ready to smack her forehead with her hand.

 “Oh, wow. Sounds like I was busy…” Komaeda continued to look impressed.

Hajime resisted the urge to step on his foot, “I’m sorry for anything Komaeda has done…but he won’t remember that. Future Foundation should have something on record about us?” He had to clear this up despite the headache is was trying to will away.

“Record?” Komaru slightly lowered her megaphone, “We actually just got to this city a couple days ago and we technically aren’t Future Foundation yet so I don’t usually hear things… but… you must be the two people they told us to greet.”

Good. They were getting somewhere, “Yes. That’s us. We got… lost. As I said before Future Foundation asked us to come and help a bit.”

She narrowed her eyes, but finally slung her megaphone into a holder on her belt, “Ok. I trust you. I’m Naegi Komaru. And this is Genocider Syo.”

“Yeah, yeah I introduced myself already.” Genocider Syo muttered, “And you’re trusting them just like that?” She added.

“Well you said the letter was from Kirigiri and I trust your judgement! Plus, we were told to find two people heading to Headquarters.” Komaru beamed, “Now let’s go before more Monokumas appear.”

Hajime rubbed his head, nodded, and was about to go, but a strong breeze picked up. Behind him he heard Genocider sneeze promptly followed by a loud scream and stuttering. Turning around he saw Fukawa pointing at Komaeda, stepping away from him as she did so.

“W-what’s he doing here?”

Komaeda gave a hesitant smile, “Ah… so memories aren’t passed on? Interesting… Hello?”

Komaru sighed, “It’s okay Touko-chan. I’ll have Hinata-san explain on the way.”

Oh, good. She was passing the task to him. Fukawa looked between Komaeda and Komaru before settling on glaring at Komaeda. “F-fine, but do anything f-funny and I’ll c-carve out your s-stomach w-with… a d-dull scissor!”

“Wow. Marvelous description. As expected from the former Ultimate Literary Prodigy.”

Now was not the time. Hajime bopped Komaeda on the head and before he could protest Hajime laced their hands together, “Understood. Let me explain. Please, lead us to the branch?”

“Right!” Komaru started to walk.

Hajime started after her, tugging Komaeda along. As silence filled the group Fukawa slowed her pace down a bit, walking closer to him. Her hands were clasped in front of her and she was biting her lip. Hajime stared a bit. She was vastly different from Genocider Syo, cautious, with eyes darting every direction. Yet, at the same time he could strangely see a similarity, like there was a fire burning under her that she didn’t quite know how to express to the world.

“W-what? A-are you thinking y-you’ve never seen a girl so u-ugly before?” She stammered.

Hajime gaped and felt his head throb in response to her words. Beside him Komaeda let out a small laugh. “Always insulting girls you’ve barely met Hinata-kun.” He muttered.

Hajime elbowed Komaeda lightly, “No… I didn’t mean any offense. I’m sorry.”

“W-well?” She stammered, “Y-you said I’d get an e-explanation.”

Right. His mind refused to think any harder and Hajime let the topic drop, “Basically we don’t remember anything from after we entered Hopes Peak.”

“A-are you serious?” She stared at him before her eyes narrowed and she sighed, “R-reusing the same p-plot point I see. It isn’t even a good one too. Amnesia is an over rated trope and cliché these days.”

Did she just compare their situation to literary terms?

“D-did your memory g-get wiped by E-Enoshima too?”

Komaeda stiffened beside him. Hajime slowly rubbed circles into his hand. “Hasn’t Future Foundation told you? They wiped our memories.”

She stopped in her tracks and whipped her head around, “T-They did? And for your information, no, they don’t tell me anything. I’m still a bloody intern.”

“Uh yes…” Hajime tugged Komaeda a bit closer to dodge a pile of rubble, “We were placed in the Neo World Program, a virtual world, to try and erase our memories of Despair.”

“W-wow, we c-can’t even decide what g-genre we are in.” Fukawa muttered before shrugging, “And t-that makes s-sense I suppose. Marshmallow over t-there was p-pretty strange l-last time we saw him.”

“Wait what did you call him?”

“Marshmallow?” Komaeda repeated mildly.

“Touko! Don’t call him that.”

“What? It’s true.” Fukawa crossed her arms, “L-last time Marshmallow went on an on about Dekomaru being the p-protagonist. Also, spouted weird things about Hope and Despair.” She shuddered, “I-It gave me the creeps. I t-tuned t-that stuff out.”

It didn’t sound all that different from Komaeda while they were in the Neo World Program. Hajime felt a stabbing pain in his head and for a second his vision blurred a bit. Shutting his eyes, he rubbed his head cautiously. The pain exploded in small bursts, like fireworks. It left him feeling a bit sweaty and dizzy. His mind slowly floated a bit from his body.

“Hinata-kun?” He felt Komaeda press his metal hand to his head. The coldness was a welcome. Hajime let out a long hiss of air. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah…” Hajime forced his eyes open, “Nothing too major.”

“Are you sure?” Komaeda leaned a bit closer, “You didn’t injure yourself?”

“No, no injuries. I’m fine.” Hajime gently reached over and patted his shoulder.

Komaeda kept his hand on Hajime’s head for a moment longer before dropping it, “If you say so…”

Giving his best smile Hajime squeezed Komaeda’s other hand and returned his attention to the two girls. He’d have time to rest up later. They had stopped, Touko giving a smile that was a bit too curled up at the corners.

“Oh god they’re t-too cute. I-I bet t-they’re the couple f-fans would l-latch onto. I-I feel some inspiration. M-maybe I’ll include t-this in my n-next book.”

Fans? Couple? Next book? Hajime felt his face warm a bit. He and Komaeda weren’t romantic enough to be even considered for one of Fukawa’s books… right?

“Anyways.” Komaru gave Touko a look, “We’re almost back to headquarters.”

They were? Hajime glanced around. None of the buildings looked familiar, but the road ahead started to look like the one they were on before getting lost. A small breeze picked up and Hajime became acutely aware it was quiet. Where were the Monokumas?

“Strange there are no Monokumas around.” Komaeda spoke Hajime’s thoughts.

“There weren’t too many around this city to begin with.” Komaru reassured them, “And any that were here Touko and I took down.”

Hajime still carefully stepped out of the side street. Komaru continued down the street, walking until they reached a large, uprooted tree blocking two thirds of the street. Circling around it she turned sharply right. Pausing Hajime tried to glance around the tree, to see exactly where they were going. No such luck. Gingerly he let go of Komaeda’s hand and walked around the roots. Behind the tree were a few more buildings and two corners. Komaru was waiting and as soon as she spotted him she started to bounce forward.

“Wait.” Hajime called, “Don’t go too far ahead.”

Raising his voice was a mistake. Hajime felt his brain throb more and his vision spot with black. Not now. He could do this. Taking a deep breath, he tried to focus, but the pain was persistent this time. It webbed out thinly, but strongly.

“Hinata-kun.” Komaeda’s voice was soft in his ear, “Are you sure you’re all right?”

Weakly Hajime nodded, “Yeah sorry. Let’s continue.”

He barely forced himself two steps forward when a loud explosion filled the air, followed by Touko and Komaru shouting. What was happening? He tried to look through the dust, but there was nothing. Frowning he started to run towards them, but Komaeda latched onto his arm.

“Wait Hinata-kun. You can’t even see.”

“But I need to make sure they’re all right.”

“There could be more explosives ahead.” Komaeda argued.

Damnit the other was right, but Hajime couldn’t sit and wait. A small voice in his mind reminded him that he already had a headache, that he had already used too many talents, but Hajime ignored it. Ripping his hand out of Komaeda’s grip he ran forward, expertly pulling the knife from his holster out. The dust was simply an obstacle to pass. He ran through it, calculating the direction of the wind. The smoke was thinning… there. He pushed through and glanced around.

There were Monokumas with riot shields waddling around. Genocider Syo and Komaru were already fighting, but it was clear Komaru was at the disadvantage as she kept circling around, trying to hit the machines from behind.

Racing forward Hajime stabbed the unprotected back of a Monokuma before grabbing the shield and throwing it like a Frisbee. It knocked down a couple more, giving Komaru the chance to run up and shoot them with her Hacking Gun.

“BREAK!” She yelled as she fired.

Behind him Genocider Syo took down a few more, laughing manically, scissors twirling. Hajime felt his brain loudly protest, but he surged forward and took down another Monokuma.

“We got this!” Komaru yelled as she reloaded her gun, shooting towards a group of Monokumas, “DANCE!”

That… was the strangest thing Hajime had ever seen… but he didn’t have time to ponder more. Suddenly he heard an explosion start behind him. Wincing he quickly did an impressive flip backwards. An intense pain ran through his head as he landed and Hajime knelt, gasping. His vision was spotted. No… he had to continue… but another stab ran through his mind.

Falling to the ground Hajime cussed silently. The sound of yelling and destruction was all he could hear. Hajime had to help everyone. Instinctively Hajime picked a talent and lunged, knife in hand. Metal screeched loudly under his hands. Out of the corner of his eyes Hajime saw another Monokuma. He took it down. Dodge. Twist. Dance. He took one more down and felt his mind ache. Just… a bit more. Another Monokuma down… and another one…

The yelling started to die down and the explosions got quieter. Hajime wobbled to his feet. His vision was spotted black. He could see Komaru racing towards Fukawa, talking, but no sound was registering. A presence grew closer. Hajime hastily turned around and felt his vision completely black out. He felt his body wobble forward and gravity accepting him into it’s embrace.

~

Hajime felt his mind stir. Everything felt thick, but watery, like he was floating in mashed watermelon juice. Or watermelon soup. Was that a thing? His mind felt heavy and unanchored to something. His body felt far away, like his mind was a helium balloon, attached only by a single thread. Who… who was he? He was the perfect soldier? No wait he was the best fighter in the world. No wait… he was a baseball star… no wait… everything spiralled in a haze of colour until it slowly mutated into black and then white. Who was he? Where was he? Fluttering his eyes Hajime returned to the surface. His vision was blurry, but someone was leaning over him.

Hajime held his breath for a millisecond and without a thought tossed the person onto the bed, pinning them on their stomach. Harshly he straddled the person, pressing his knees around the person painfully. Leaning forward Hajime dug his elbow into their back. He should kill them… no wait he should interrogate them… no wait that was too extreme… question them? No, kill them… they were a threat… no talk to them first… no beat them up and then talk to them… wait what was he doing? This was clearly a visit with a specific goal… so he should flirt with them… tease them…? Hajime felt his face warm up. No, he was wrong… this was a threat… slowly Hajime shoved their face down. A splutter occurred, followed by some wiggling and squirming.

“H-Hinata… H… Hinata…”

Hajime’s mind slammed harshly back into his skull. He felt a rush of blood to his brain and let out a long, deep gasp, his vision focusing. The person under him started to take form… messy white hair… green jacket… Hajime immediately jumped off, wincing as he did so. The bed underneath him creaked, the blankets bunching under his legs.

“Komaeda… oh god. Are you okay?” Hajime reached out.

Komaeda smacked his hand away. Hajime barely registered the pain in his hand as his heart twisted. Komaeda sat up slowly, rubbing his neck, poking at his sides. His gaze was cast downward. Hajime thickly swallowed and tried to catch Komaeda’s eyes. The other turned his head sharply.

“Komaeda…” Hajime’s voice cracked a bit, “I’m sorry I… Please talk to me…”

Nothing. Komaeda continued to check his sides, lifting his shirt a bit, frowning as he examined. Hajime didn’t need to be any closer to see bruising had already started. He tasted bile and his stomach flip flopped. Komaeda wasn’t the healthiest person… and here Hajime hurt him… He wanted to throw up. Tears gathered at the corner of his eyes. He was the one to hurt Komaeda and the realization hurt him more than anything.

“Please… talk to me…” Hajime tried again, “I didn’t mean to… I hurt you…”

Finally, Komaeda looked up. His face was blank, but Hajime could see hurt shining deeply in his eyes. All his words died on his lips. Not that Hajime had many words to begin with.

“What was that?” Komaeda’s voice was dull.

Spluttering Hajime could feel his pulse, “I… I lost it for a moment.”

“Lost it?” Komaeda coldly parroted, “What do you mean by ‘lost it?’ You attacked me. You were suffocating me. I couldn’t call you out of it. Hinata-san you better explain.”

The change in name burned a hole through Hajime’s heart and he slowly conjured the truth, “My talents I… I used too many… I lost myself.”

Komaeda snorted and his face broke, mouth wavering and chest heaving as he choked out a weak laugh, “So you lied to me?”

It always hurt to be called out by Komaeda. Hajime could only woodenly nod, “I just didn’t want you worried while we were in the city…”

“Not just then.” Komaeda cut him off sharply. “You lied to me every time you went out for assignments. Is this how you always are after using too many talents?”

His mouth was dry and a cold sweat broke over Hajime’s body. He looked down and felt and icy glaze brush over his cheeks. Komaeda scoffed, “You never told me. I’m not important enough to tell the truth to I guess.”

“No… it isn’t like that.” Hajime had to try and explain, “I just thought if you knew you would never let me out of the island and then…”

“Oh?” Komaeda abruptly stood up, tears gleaming down his face. His cheeks were red and his hands shaking, “So you think me as some sort of jailer? Willing to lock you up rather than let you go out and use your abilities for good? Do you think I’m that selfish?”

That was not what he should have said. Hajime wanted to smack himself, “No… I didn’t mean it like that…”

“I don’t care Hinata-san. I don’t want to listen right now.” Komaeda turned around, “I’ll go tell them you’re awake.”

Hajime tried to stand up, to stop Komaeda from leaving but his legs wouldn’t cooperate. He stared at the door. He couldn’t let Komaeda just walk out and end their conversation like this. Reaching out Hajime tried to grab Komaeda’s jacket. His hand missed and he grasped nothing. The door shut a moment later.

Hajime stared at the door, trying to will Komaeda back. He royally screwed up and now Komaeda was hurting in more ways than one. Tears rolled down Hajime’s face. He tried to move, but his legs firmly stayed planted on the bed. Falling sideways he lay on the bed, crying with uneven sobs. He hurt Komaeda and he couldn’t even defend himself. Komaeda was right to be upset. Hajime had no reason to cry. He still did though, crying until he felt empty. His head still throbbed, but it was over shadowed by the ache he felt all over. How could he even make this up?

“Hey I was told you were awake… oh are you all right?”

Hajime looked over. Komaru stood with a tray of food and a bottle of water. Warily she smiled and stepped inside, shutting the door neatly behind her. “Hey you don’t look so good. Komaeda-san didn’t either. Is everything okay?”

Shakily Hajime sat up and shivered a bit. He crawled under the blankets, wrapping them around his waist, “I’m fine.” His voice sounded like shredded paper.

“You don’t sound fine.” Komaru answered before sitting on the bed, setting the tray down. “I thought you might be hungry.”

He was, but Hajime couldn’t find the energy to eat. “Thank you… I’ll eat later.”

She moved closer on the bed, sitting in the center, “Something’s wrong. You’ve been crying. I don’t mean to pry, but I can listen, if you like.”

Was she serious? They had barely met for less than twenty-four hours and she was willing to listen? “Are you serious?”

“Of course I am.” Komaru pouted, “I don’t like seeing people sad.”

That was… kind, but Hajime didn’t want to pull up the experience he just went through. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

She huffed and was silent for a moment. “… did you and Komaeda-san have an argument?” Komaru inquired.

Hajime flinched and distracted himself by grabbing and opening the water bottle. Komaru gave a small smile of victory before scooting a bit closer, “I won’t ask what it was about… but can I assume you’re in the wrong?”

How was she doing this? Hajime set the water bottle down, “Did you hear us?”

“Ah, so I was right?” Komaru gave a shrug.

Hajime didn’t want to grace her with a rude response so he drank more water and made a half-hearted attempt to pick at the bread. Komaru didn’t go away. She moved closer so she was sitting on the other side of the bed, even crawling under the covers too. Leaning back against the headboard she fiddled with the blankets as Hajime pulled small chunks of bread to eat.

“Once Touko and I got into a really big argument.” Komaru suddenly said, “I was so hurt and I said mean things. She said mean things back and we parted for bed afterwards. That night I was… kidnapped?” She hesitantly said the word, “And I thought Touko wouldn’t come for me. I thought that even if she knew where I was and figured a way to get there, why would she come? I said such horrible things. But she came for me. She saved me. I was never so thankful in my life. I realized that even though we had a terrible argument, I still love her and she loves me back. Afterwards we talked it out and made up.”

She bit her lip, “What I’m trying to say is… you had a big argument, but you still love Komaeda-san. And he still loves you. He left hurt and you’re hurt too. Give him some space… and then go talk it out.”

Talk it out? Hajime chewed silently. Even if he found Komaeda afterwards who said Komaeda would even want to talk to him let alone listen? Setting the picked piece of bread down Hajime examined Komaru. She hadn’t lowered her gaze. She probably wouldn’t leave without an answer.

“Are you sure he’d even want to listen?” Hajime softly asked, “I attacked him.”

“Touko attacked me once too.” Komaru offered, “We made up. She wasn’t attacking me on purpose. She didn’t want to hurt me. Ironically enough it was because of Komaeda-san’s manipulation.”

There was a lot in that reply, but Hajime’s mind latched onto the last part, “Wait she attacked you because of Komaeda?”

“Uh huh.” Komaru leaned back again, “He was so strange… he looked harmless… especially with all of the marker on his face… but he was easily able to manipulate things.”

“Wait… marker on his face?” Hajime blinked.

Komaru laughed, “He didn’t have it the first time I met him… but the second time he had all this marker on his face… I think he let the kids draw on his face?”

Hajime’s heart lightened. He let out a small laugh and felt his appetite slowly return, sadness dissipating. “Yeah… sounds like something he’d let happen…”

“Really?” Komaru’s eyes widened.

“Yes.” Hajime finished the bread in two big bites, “At least back when I first met him. He used to be so self-deprecating.”

“Guess that explains calling himself Servant.” Komaru muttered.

“Servant?”

“That’s what he called himself. I didn’t learn his name until… we met today.”

Interesting… Hajime filed that away and started to eat his salad.

“Do you feel a bit better?” Komaru asked.

“…Yes. Thank you.” Hajime honestly replied.

“Could I stay here for a while?” Komaru inquired.

It would be nice to have some company. Hajime nodded, “Sure.”

~

After finishing his meal Komaru politely excused herself, taking the tray and empty water bottle with her. She parted with directions to the bath and showed Hajime where his towel and change of clothes was. Apparently Future Foundation was well stocked.

Heading over Hajime walked in to find the bath a traditional one. Stripping down he tossed his clothes into the basket and walked inside. The heat was heaven and Hajime took his time washing up, even washing his hair before sitting in the bath, soaking. He stayed until his fingers were wrinkled and his head was dizzy from the heat.

The clothes were just a simple pair of slacks and a shirt, but Hajime welcomed it. Neatly folding his old clothes Hajime made a note to ask someone if he could wash them later. Returning to the room Hajime set the clothes on the bed. Komaru didn’t say if the room was his, but she didn’t say it wasn’t. Exiting the room Hajime steeled himself and started to look for Komaeda.

There were limited open spaces, so Hajime checked those first. The small lounge at the end of the hall was empty. An open meeting room was also empty. The room labelled “Video Viewing Room” was also empty. Hajime considered knocking on the doors to what he assumed to be other bedrooms, but he didn’t want to risk annoying someone.

 Heading up the stairs Hajime continued to check. The next floor was all offices with names labeling who they belonged to. There was another lounge at the end of the hall, but again nothing. Sighing Hajime rubbed his head. How many floors did this place even have?

“O-oh it’s you.”

He turned. It was Fukawa. “L-Looking for y-your boyfriend?”

Hajime blushed a bit at the word and nodded. “Have you seen him?”

“U-upstairs on t-the eight floor in the lounge.” Fukawa easily told him, “B-be careful. I think h-he might have gotten into the a-alcohol.”

Great. Hajime prayed Komaeda was merely tipsy and not drunk. “Thank you.”

“L-look.” Fukawa stopped him before he could go, “I-I talked a bit with Komaeda and it was a pain in the ass. S-so you better make up o-or else.”

Was she… concerned? Hajime nodded, “Thank you Fukawa-san.”

“J-just go.”

The elevator was close by so Hajime took it. As he stood inside he felt his heart pound as the number got closer to eight. The door chimed and he shivered. This was it. No time to hesitate.

Walking out he saw the entrance to the lounge. It spanned the entire eight floor. Hajime supposed that even in the apocalypse having an area this big to relax was needed. Immediately he spotted Komaeda. He was slouched over the counter, a bottle of something at his elbow. A couple glasses were littered around him. Hajime prayed it wasn’t too bad.

“Komaeda?” Hajime carefully approached him.

“Hinata-kun?” Komaeda lifted his head, “Go away.” His words were a bit slurred, but not too bad.

Hajime ignored the leap of happiness over being promoted back to ‘Hinata-kun’ and sat down, keeping a stool between them, “I was looking for you.”

“Well you found me.” Komaeda properly sat up and drained what was in his bottle. Hajime read the label. It was beer.

“You hate beer.” Hajime muttered.

“Yeah well it was that or wine and I didn’t have the co-ordination to pour myself some.” Komaeda replied, “I managed to convince Fukawa to pour me a couple of shots, but she left.” He scowled at the empty glasses beside him.

Hajime refrained from asking what kind of shots Komaeda had, “Look. I came here to apologize. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I thought keeping it a secret was the best option. I was wrong. I should tell you the truth.”

Komaeda stared, “Well? Out with it.”

“Ah so when I use too many talents I… get lost? I start to wander in my talents and soon I forget who I am. Especially when I’m fighting for my life on assignments. I thought not telling you was best. You would have worried.”

“I’d much rather be worried about you than disappointed in you.” Komaeda simply replied, “I had no clue what was going on. One moment I’m watching you sleep the next I’m being suffocated.”

“I’m sorry I tried to… suffocate you.” Hajime resisted the urge to reach forward.

“Hinata-kun.” Komaeda huffed, “I’m not mad that you tried to suffocate me. I know you… would never purposefully do that. I’m mad that you lied to me about how using your talents affects you.”

“I… I just thought.” Hajime looked down.

“I always worry about you Hinata-kun.” Komaeda was suddenly in front of him, sitting on the stool Hajime had placed between them, “Not knowing about how you’re affected by using your talents isn’t going to stop me from worrying.”

Hajime looked up in time to not get smacked in the chin as Komaeda flung himself into Hajime’s arms. Stumbling back a bit Hajime wrapped his arms immediately around Komaeda, pulling the other closer. He was warm and solid against him. Hajime pulled him tighter.

“I’m sorry for attacking you.” He still had to apologize for that regardless. “I’m sorry that I made it sound like you would selfishly keep me away, and I’m sorry I kept the truth from you.” Hajime softly said, “I won’t any longer.”

“Thank you.” Komaeda nuzzled his chest before looking up, biting his lip, “Hajime.” Oh, no he was using his first name. A warmth pooled in Hajime’s stomach, “Join me for a bath?”

A… bath? “But I just had one…”

Komaeda’s eyes darkened a bit, “I said… join me for a bath Hajime.”

“Are you sure? Heat and alcohol aren’t the smartest combination…”

“I’m fine.” Komaeda breathed against Hajime, “I didn’t drink that much. I can drink some water before I go in if you like. So… join me for a bath Hajime.”

Oh. A tingling sensation ran through Hajime’s body. Wordlessly he stood up and pulled Komaeda along with him. Komaeda plastered himself against his side as they went down the elevator and towards the bath. Thankfully there was no one else. Letting Komaeda go Hajime started to hunt for extra towels. There had to be some around here somewhere, right?

“Hajime.”

“What…?”

Komaeda had closed the distance and was kissing him. Hajime stumbled a bit and Komaeda pressed closer, deepening their kiss, tracing the seam of his lips, pushing his tongue forward. Opening his mouth Hajime let him deepen the kiss, loving the taste of Komaeda under the alcohol. They pulled away a moment later, a string of saliva falling between their lips.

“Try the second cabinet over there.” Komaeda muttered.

Hajime pulled away from Komaeda and opened it. There were extra towels. He turned around and sighed, “Luck?”

“Yup.”

Pulling the towels out Hajime threw one at Komaeda and took one for himself. Heading back over to the baskets Hajime once again took off his shirt. A low whistle of approval filled the room. Hajime looked over. Komaeda was standing a bit away, still dressed, eyes lit.

“Looking good.”

Hajime sighed and took the rest off, “I’ll be inside.”

He left and stepped back into the bath. Standing awkwardly Hajime supposed he should shower somewhat before getting into the water. Heading over he turned the shower on and let the warm water fall over him. A pair of arms suddenly wrapped around his waist and lips touched his neck. Hajime felt his face heat up.

“If we are found out we’ll be in trouble.”

“That’s why they clean the tubs every day Hajime.” Komaeda flippantly replied.

Turning around Hajime spluttered. Komaeda silenced him with a kiss.

~

Komaeda lay snuggled up to him on the bed. Hajime slowly drew circles on his back as he held the other close. A warmth filled Hajime as he slowly felt sleep fall over him.

“I love you Nagito.”

“Love you too Hajime.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hajime's talents: This came to me while I was reading a fan comic of Dangan Ronpa 2. Briefly it touched on the idea of Hajime needing an anchor back to himself if he uses a talent for too long. I took it a step further and added in my own ideas... I hope it worked out.
> 
> Komaeda's hand gun: Saw fan art of Souda making a hand gun for Komaeda's robot arm. Thought it was hilarious. Added it in.
> 
> Shounen Manga Protagonist: Anyone who gets the reference will make me very happy.
> 
> Wakizashi: Samurai usually had two swords, a katana and a wakizashi. Wakizashi are longer than a dagger, but shorter than a katana.
> 
> Monokuma's Claws: In AE/UDG a Monokuma easily rips through a metal door to get to Komaru. The metal can probably cut through anything, so I decided they re-purposed the metal for Hinata's knife.
> 
> Genocider Syo: I've also seen it written Sho, but I chose to use Syo.
> 
> Dekomaru: A nickname Fukawa calls Komaru in the game.
> 
> Komaru: I didn't want to call her Naegi because I always think of Makoto first.
> 
> Monokumas: In AE/UDG there are many different kinds of Monokumas that attack the two girls. I chose to use the riot shield ones because I always thought they were hilarious.
> 
> Hacking Gun: The weapon Komaru uses in the game. She basically can over write the Monokuma's codes. Through the game she gains many different types of bullets that can do different things.
> 
> Basket: You can put your clothes into a basket at an onsen. You can also rent a locker (for like... 300 yen or something... I dunno I never use one).
> 
> Servant: The name Komaeda goes by through the entirety of AE/UDG.
> 
> Alcohol: So... I am basing this off of DR 3. If the 77th class graduated high school they would have to be around 18. I assume at least a couple of years have passed, making them around 20-21. Drinking age in Japan is 20 (I think. I mean stores have signs saying no one under 20 can buy alcohol, so I think Japan lowered it to 20). Either way just wanted to note that I see Komaeda legal to drink.
> 
> Showering: Onsens have two kinds of showers: the ones where you sit on a stool. That's where you wash your hair/ body before entering the onsen. There is also a regular standing shower that's used more for cooling off or rinsing off before you exit.


End file.
